Young women's clothing retailer Charlotte Russe filed for bankruptcy and will close 94 stores, including four in Michigan.

Charlotte Russe Holdings Corp. will wind down and close 94 stores, including four in Michigan, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The California-based young women's fashion retailer is also seeking to sell the business and its assets, it said Monday in a news release announcing the Sunday filing.

The Michigan shops that will hold liquidations sales and then close are in Fashion Square Mall in Saginaw, Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, Howell Outlets in Howell and Meridian Mall in Okemos.

The news release did not provide an explanation for the bankruptcy filing.

An online Charlotte Russe location map shows nine stores total in metro Detroit, including at Oakland Mall in Troy, Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi and Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights. Charlotte Russe has more than 500 stores, mostly in malls and outlet centers.

The sales preceding closures will start by Thursday, according to the bankruptcy filing, and stretch through March 31. Those deadlines can be extended.

The announcement isn't a surprise, after a debt restructuring move last year. S&P Global analysts said in early 2018 that "operating trends will remain weak over the next 12 months given continued intense competition in the specialty apparel space and lower store traffic resulting in moderate cash burn over that time period," according to Retail Dive.

Brick-and-mortar retail closures are widely reported, with Amazon.com and e-commerce often cited as contributing to their departure — from Gap to Sears, Payless and another teen retailer, Rue21.

But a Crain's special report this week investigated the state of metro Detroit shopping malls, where halls are lined with stores like Charlotte Russe, and how metro Detroit mall vacancy rates have dropped in recent years.